Pregnant woman ‘doomed by Bathurst hospital’

Pregnant woman ‘doomed by Bathurst hospital’

The parents of a woman who died after a caesarean in central western New South Wales have told an independent inquiry she was doomed from the time she set foot inside the old Bathurst Base Hospital.

Lewis and Adrienne Furner today appeared at a special commission of inquiry into the state’s acute care services.

They told the inquiry they believe their 29-year-old daughter, Rebecca Murray, was bound to die last June due to understaffing at the Bathurst hospital.

They told of a delayed blood transfusion, inexperienced staff and the necessary drugs not being available.

Speaking after giving evidence, Mr Furner said he questioned the relevance of Bathurst’s new $98 million hospital when he was given the report into his daughter’s death.

“I looked over at the new building and I said, ‘Why the hell are you building this monstrosity when you haven’t got the staff or equipment to look after the patients you’ve got?'” he said. “And the answer was, ‘It’s political’.”

He said he was he glad his family’s story had been heard.

“The more people that speak out, the more the Government will be aware that this isn’t just a one-off thing and that people are actually dying from underfunding and the mistakes that are being made,” he said.

‘Film of secrecy’

A community representative at Bathurst also told the inquiry concerns were raised about the city’s problem-plagued hospital before it was built.

Speaking outside after giving evidence, Julie Maher from the Bathurst Health Council said the concerns were listened to but not acted upon.

“Some people were silenced and castigated,” she said.

“There seemed to be a film of secrecy and we were often told that things were not to be mentioned outside of various areas or we wouldn’t be given any more information.”

Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner says stories similar to those heard today will continue if the State Government does not act soon.

“[Health Minister] Reba Meagher should be listening to the evidence now and working now to make sure not one other patient suffers from the dysfunction of the hospital system under her watch,” she said.